I loved looking through Katie and Tony’s elegant wedding photos again! This was a perfect day with gorgeous weather, sweet princess gowns, a huge bouquet of wildflowers, a precious First Look Session, and some of my favorite night photos ever. With their family and friends surrounding them, they said beautiful vows at The Grand Ballroom of Butler. During the reception, we snuck to the rooftop to take a few snaps overlooking the city lights.

Sarah and Audie make the sweetest couple. They are such good friends, have a ton of inside jokes, and are so affectionate with each other. Their friends are the center of their life, and they threw a fantastic party to celebrate their vows. Shooting their wedding was a joy getting to know everyone, and even though there was a toonnnn of rain, we got to take some beautiful portraits in the sanctuary at St. Wendelin’s. During the reception, one of Sarah’s bridesmaids watched the weather radar like it was her job, and found us a ten minute window to be able to get some portraits outside!

I loved going through Kylee and Chris’s wedding photos again! I’ve been catching up on my wedding blogging, and this wedding was picture perfect. Kylee lovingly put all the details together, and Chris made beautiful wooden pieces for their decor and cake serving ware. They each put a piece of their heart into this wedding, and their love for each other shows in each element!

I’m so excited to share Brittany and Sean’s wedding! The details were chic and glam, including Brittany’s Kate Spade heels, and Sean’s Rosary from Italy. It’s been a while since I’ve been blogging the weddings I’ve shot, and this one was special because these two are head over heels for each other. Brittany made this day about everyone else–she was so attentive to everyone and wanted all of her guests to have a good time–which they certainly did!

Brittany and Sean opted for a First Look Session for their Bridal Formals, since their ceremony wasn’t until the evening. A First Look breaks the old tradition of waiting until after the ceremony to see each other–I LOVE these because it’s so intimate–it’s a special moment shared just between you and your almost-spouse! We pick a meeting place that you both love a few weeks before and the groom waits for his bride there. She walks up behind him, and when she’s ready, she touches his shoulder. He turns to see him, not just as his love and his girlfriend/wife, but as his BRIDE! The facial expressions, the reactions, the tears…there are no words to describe how fantastic it is to see each partner’s looks and exclamations to each other! It’s just JOYFUL ❤

Thanks so much for choosing me for your photographer! It was a blast! ❤ I wish you a long and happy life together! ❤

It’s been a while since I’ve taken a break from blogging, and now that I’m back on, I’m SOOOOO ridiculously excited to share Jess and Zach’s wedding! It was seriously one of my favorite days ever, not just because it was a FUN wedding, but because it was an honor and a joy to watch these two say vows they wrote themselves (which were hilarious and cute at the same time!) but also to see everyone so happy. Jess and Zach are a rare find in today’s instant world. They really did restore my faith in humanity. They are such wonderful people, a friend to anyone, warm and welcoming to strangers, and made everyone feel included and comfortable. Once you make a friend in them, you have a friend for life. I even ran into Jess last week, and chatted it up like we hadn’t missed a day. These gems deserve a long life of happiness together.

Thanks for having me shoot your wonderful day! All the best to you both, always ❤

One of theee most fun weddings I’ve shot was Trisha and Luke’s–everyone was warm and welcoming, and had a blast together. This wedding was on beautiful day in July, and even though I took a break from blogging, I’m so glad to look back on these pictures on a snow day like today.
From the moment I met Trisha, I knew it would be a crazy day in all the best ways! Luke had “the” hockey team for all his groomsmen, he’s #popularitygoals for sure! The girls cheerful Tiffany Blue dresses showed off Trisha’s energetic and outgoing personality. Hosted by the family, their backyard was the perfect setting for an evening of cigars, cornhole, and catching up. It was a gorgeous day with a glowy sunset, finished off perfectly by a jump in the pool!

Thanks so much for having me capture one of THE most fun weddings! All the best! ❤

I’m especially excited to share this lovely wedding of my family’s! I took a break from blogging, and now I’m updating and I’d love to share these images! Daphne and Jordan are two energetic and outdoorsy people, I mean, she’s camping at four months pregnant and also working full time! I don’t know how she does it! It was a beautiful, intimate vow reading overlooking a gorgeous drop off at Letchworth State Park, which of course made for a fantastic backdrop for portraits and family photos!

Jordan and Daphne’s brother actually made beer just for their wedding celebration! Chocolate peanut butter stout was awessssoooome!

Gorgeous views for vow reading…also no dry eyes 😉

A gorgeous day in the woods for a beautiful couple and family! So many good memories ❤

I’m so excited to share one of the coolest weddings I had the pleasure to shoot! It’s been a while since I have been blogging, and I’ve been wanting to especially show off this one! Amanda and Jeff hosted one of my faaaavorite weddings! Why? They did a PHOTO TOUR of Pittsburgh! Currently living out of state, Amanda wanted to highlight Pittsburgh in their wedding photos. Before hosting their wedding ceremony and reception at the National Aviary, they rented a trolley for their wedding party and families and we did photos in all their favorite Pittsburgh places. These places included the Roberto Clemente Bridge, the scenic Mount Washington Lookout, the incredibly colorful Randyland, and right under the Crosby Statue at the PPG Paints Arena.
We started out the day with a First Look Session for Amanda and Jeff–so romantic, right underneath the Heinz History Center.

After the First Look, we then traveled to Randyland, which we loved for the bright, bold colors and XYZ XYZ

A colorful map of Pittsburgh makes an awesome backdrop!

We finished up their super fun (and full of laughs!) bridal session with the family photos and bridal party photos all over Pittsburgh’s best views!

After this, we headed to one of Jeff’s favorite places, the PPG Paints Arena (formerly Consol Energy Center) , which houses the coolest statue of Mario Lemieux for shots of his groomsmen and entire bridal party.

I’m just looking forward to being there,” he said.
Driving through the evergreen countryside, passing the landmark wagon wheel, I totally agreed; “My thoughts exactly. Just being there.”
Surrounded by like-minded people. People that all gathered not just to learn, but that congregated because we were alike by default. A convention of learning and fellowship.
“It’ll be great just to catch up with everyone from last year…as well as go around and count all the Subarus and look at the Eco-bumpersticksers!”
We’ve been going since 2012, it’s become something of a tradition.
My own Subaru was included in that statement. I’d say that about 57% of people that attend the Mother Earth News fair drive a Subaru. That’s not an exaggeration, or a joke. Breaking down the counting, we have it subdivided into bumper-sticker categories like Coexist, No Farms No Food, Co-op, and my personal favorite, My Honor Student is Self Sufficient.
Each year is a chance to meet new people and catch up with the friends made from the year before. Every Mother Earth News fair is the same, but different. We learn new techniques and skills for self-sufficiency, or we hone our skills on what we learned the year before, all while networking, growing, and taking a break from life to focus on something that feeds your soul and interest.
Some of the key points we learned last year were how to properly make soap from scratch (not the glycerin pieces you get at the craft store), getting started with an apiary and making honey, properly fermenting sauerkraut and kimchi, making bread at home, making quick cheese (such as ricotta and cottage cheese), and preserving seeds for next year’s harvest.

There were also classes on homesteading and home school, which were immensely helpful for me, as I’m now in my fourth year of homeschooling our two boys.
We’ve taken away quite a bit from the classes and the people we’ve met at the Mother Earth News Fair. We started growing heirloom carrots and planting in pots as we live in the city. My friends started their own apiary and made delicious honey. Together, we baked some fantastic cheddar chive rolls after harvesting string beans.

The list-maker in me loves how the classes are set up. It’s a college-style course list, and you can look at the course title and description and decide which classes are best suited to you, and attend accordingly.
If I were a teacher for one of these classes (as my husband and I have considered putting ourselves out there for this!) I’d definitely suggest that we use EventBrite as a way of tracking who would be attending the course. It also helps with planning out all the classes you want to attend; ensuring that you don’t try to sign up for two classes that may be running at the same time. This can easily help you map out your day.
Not only would EventBrite give the teacher a better idea of who was attending and how many people they would have to work with that particular day and time slot, but it would also offer a way for people in the class to network with each other. Meeting other people in the class and networking with them on social media is a great way to continue your learning and friendships throughout the year until the next convention!
A few important things I make sure I pack are:
* my camera (because Seven Springs is incredibly scenic in September!)
* a notebook with plenty of fresh pages
* several pens with caps (because pens will burst and you need to protect your stuff!)
* business cards with my email and social media on them
* a hard copy of the classes offered
* an open mind and lots of coffee
I feel that’s the most important part of attending any convention–not just to learn, but to network and make friends.

I’m excited to (finally!) share Brittany and Ryan’s wedding day here on the blog! If you’re wondering why it’s taken so long to get their wedding post up, you can read this blog post for a backstory with my blog and the downtime that came with it. Anyway! Brittany is such a special girl–I mean, I even left my vest in her dressing room and she texted me the next day to ask me if it was mine, when she should have just been spending time with her brand-new husband, but, this is Brittany, and she is a loving, caring soul, and all about everyone else. This resonated throughout her wedding day–all about Ryan, her adorable nephews, her sis-in-law who had a newborn 10 days earlier (and you couldn’t tell, super jealous!) and making everyone comfortable and concerning herself with everyone and making sure they had a good time–which they totally did!
They held their ceremony and reception in the same place (so smart!) at the Mayernik Center in Avonworth Community Park. It’s awesome to have your wedding at an all-inclusive place like this because they provided a lovely room for Brittany and her girls to dress in, and it saves your guests (and you!) from running around to different places on your already busy day. It’s also convenient because I was able to take photos of the groom, his groomsmen, and some family photos before the ceremony because they wished to remain traditional and not see each other before their vows. Simple. Easy. Yes!
The Mayernik Center was the perfect backdrop for Brittany’s burlap and lace accents, contrasting with a bright, cheeful Tiffany Blue for her bridesmaid dresses and accents.
It was wonderful to spend the day with these two. Many, many years of happiness to their long life together!

The Mayernik Center (also known as Avonworth Community Park) provide a beautiful backdrop for photos, even in April before any leaves had bloomed! I especially loved the creek running through the park.